Does Home Insurance Cover Tradesmen Working In My House?
Caeva O'Callaghan | April 11th, 2024
You may be aware of how your home insurance impacts guests to your home, but will it cover the plasterers, plumbers and joiners you employ?
Yes, your home insurance will cover tradesmen working in your house. As long as you have a standard home insurance policy in place, your insurer will take care of the claim.
As long as you have not shown wilful negligence, your claim should be successful.
In this article, we’ll cover the following questions:
- Am I liable for a tradesman’s injuries?
- Does my tradesman have to have insurance?
- How can I avoid tradesmen getting injured in my home?
Your home insurance also extends to the tradesman’s property, e.g. their tools and equipment, so if they get damaged and it is your fault your insurance will cover you for the costs.
Am I liable for a tradesman’s injuries?
When a tradesman enters your home, he is being invited onto your property to carry out a service. You therefore have a duty of care to this person to:
- Take reasonable precautions to ensure their safety
- Warn of any risks or dangers present
- Never wilfully put them in harm’s way
For small jobs such as rewiring a socket or fixing a roof slate, you shouldn’t have to inform the tradesman of any faults in your home besides those you’ve employed them to fix. However, if the chimney is loose or your house wiring is dangerously out of date, this would make you liable for injuries.
The tradesman should supply everything necessary to complete the job. This is because they’ll be fully covered by their own insurance when doing so. But if they don’t, you’d be liable for any injury they might suffer as a result of your faulty materials or tools.
For example, let’s say you needed your roof repaired, and informed the tradesman that you had your own ladder so he needn’t bring his own. You set up the ladder in the A position rather than fully extended, meaning it was slightly lower than the roof, and you didn’t secure it.
Having to make an awkward stretch to reach the ladder when coming down from the roof, the tradesman fell onto your concrete driveway, suffering serious injury. You would certainly be liable in this scenario, as you did not properly ensure his safety.
Does my tradesman have to have insurance?
Absolutely. Having the right kind of insurance protects tradesmen and their businesses from unforeseen costs as a result of damage or injury.
This will allow them to work in others’ homes safely, and will cover the costs of repairs if unintentional damage is done. This applies not only to their clients’ property, but anything else they happen to damage as well.
Accidents are the number one reason builders need insurance. Without it, if things go wrong, the tradesman may find themselves disastrously out of pocket and at risk of losing their business.
Any builder, plumber, plasterer or painter worth their salt needs to be fully insured before you hire them to do work. They will likely have at least three types of liabilities included in their insurance policy, which are:
- Public Liability
- Products Liability
- Employers Liability
This means they will be covered for risks to members of the public and their property, for any faulty materials and products, and for any additional sub-contractors they hire.
Tradesmen may also have personal accident cover, which will help cover the costs of any accident they suffer on site.
How can I avoid tradesmen getting injured in my home?
Number one, make sure you hire the most trustworthy tradesman you can find. Do your research, consult business listings offline as well as online, and consult your friends and neighbours for word of mouth recommendations.
Look for tradesmen who have invested money in their business and who come with their own vans and equipment, rather than odd-jobbers. Enquire about their insurance upfront, at the quote stage.
And of course, make your home as safe as possible before tradesmen arrive to do the work. Make sure you keep children and pets safely out of the way, clear the path to the area the tradesmen will be working on, and never leave workers alone in your house.
Lastly, make them aware of any risks or hazards present in your home, especially if you’re taking on a large renovation project.
Talk to us today if you have any home insurance questions
If you have questions about your home insurance and what is covered and what is not give us a call today, and we’ll be happy to help. Our house insurance experts know all the angles. We are available by phone between 8.30am and 5.30pm each weekday on 0818 224433 or 042 9359051.
If your home policy is up for renewal you can get an instant home insurance quote using our quote engine. We compare insurance from Ireland’s leading providers to find you the right cover for your needs.